London - CBS-owned (NYSE: CBS) social music discovery service Last.fm announced on Wednesday the launch of a new artist royalty program, which the company said will give unsigned and independent artists the opportunity to accrue royalties every time their tracks are listened to on the site.

Since it began offering unsigned artists the option to join its Artist Royalty Program and get the same revenue-sharing deal as label-based artists in January, over 450,000 tracks have been uploaded and offered for free streaming.

However, Merlin, a rights body for independent music that represents over 12,000 independent labels, took issue with the fact that the new Last.fm royalty program "does not appear to offer any compensation for any past illegal use of repertoire."

"As you will be aware, we have for the last few months been negotiating with Last.fm regarding a non exclusive blanket licence and a settlement agreement on behalf of Merlin members," reads a notice sent to Merlin member labels.

"Unfortunately, these negotiations have stalled -- in particular due to Last.fm's unwillingness to properly address its illegal infringing activity."

Merlin added that the terms of the royalty program "appear ambiguous," and endorsed Last.fm's advice that artists unsure about the terms seek independent legal advice.

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